HOUSE FLY 15 



can get a magnifying glass, look at a fly's body and legs, and 

 notice that they are hairy, and that the lower joint of each leg, 

 which the fly uses to clean the rest of its body, is like a stiff 

 brush. 



The Harm done by House Flies. — House flies may often try 

 to keep themselves tidy, but they can not be perfectly clean, 

 for they seek their food on rubbish heaps as well as in our 

 kitchens and dining rooms. By bringing germs of disease into 

 our houses they may be the cause of sickness. Typhoid fever 



Life History of House Flies 



and diphtheria may be caused by flies. As they can carry 

 some diseases, flies should be kept out of a room where any 

 one is sick. 



The Life of a Fly. — Are all house flies of the same size ? 

 Do little house flies grow to become big ones ? House flies 

 lay eggs which hatch white or gray worms, called maggots. 

 In this state a young fly is called a larva. It lives as a larva 

 about a week, and then becomes a brown, hard-shelled object 

 which looks much like a large kernel of wheat. In this state 

 the young fly is called a pupa, and can neither eat nor move. 

 After about a week spent as a pupa the insect bursts open one 

 end of its shell, and goes off as a full-grown winged fly. 



